Alex Padilla
Role at the time: U.S. senator for California
Condemned
Statement summary
Alex Padilla, Cory Booker and Richard Blumenthal wrote to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin on October 5, 2026, asking DHS to suspend field duties for ICE officers hired in the 2025 surge until background checks and training are complete. The letter says witnesses have disputed DHS's account of the Houston shooting, and that such killings show surge hires did not receive adequate instruction in use-of-force standards.
“On July 7, 2026, an ICE officer in Houston, Texas fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old construction worker and father of three, while he was driving a work crew to a job site. Witnesses have disputed DHS's account that Mr. Salgado Araujo used his vehicle as a weapon. ... These killings, combined with the whistleblower's account of corners cut on both vetting and training, make clear that officers hired during the surge did not receive adequate instruction in de-escalation, use-of-force standards, and vehicle-stop protocols before being sent into communities with the authority to use deadly force.”